The RNeasy Mini Kit is intended for molecular biology applications. This product is not intended for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of a disease.

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RNeasy Mini procedure.|High-quality RNA from a variety of samples.|RT-PCR of RNA from as few as 100 cells.|RNeasy Mini spin column.|

Total RNA purified with the RNeasy Mini Kit is of high quality and is suitable for many downstream applications. Protocols are also included for cleanup of partially purified RNA, in vitro transcripts, and RNA from enzymatic reactions. Lyticase, zymolase, or glass beads (required for yeast samples) are not provided. Amounts of RNA isolated from samples can vary due to the developmental stage, species, and growth conditions of the sample source. Since the RNeasy procedure enriches for RNA species >200 nt, RNA yield does not include 5S rRNA, tRNAs, or other low-molecular-weight RNAs.|Formaldehyde agarose gel and northern blot of total RNA purified with the RNeasy Maxi Kit. Total RNA (10 µg) isolated from each source was loaded per lane. All tissues were from mouse. Yeast: Saccharomyces cerevisiae; E. coli strain: HB101. 32P-labeled probes recognized (G) GAPDH; (E) translation elongation factor EF-1α; and (O) outer membrane protein A sequences. (E and O were kindly provided by P. Philippsen, University of Basel, Switzerland and U. Henning, Max Planck Institute of Biology, Tübingen, Germany, respectively.) B. subtilis was not probed. M: 0.24-9.5 kb RNA ladder. 7.5 kb band (indicated) in embryo, Huh7, and HeLa cell lanes is a nuclear precursor RNA.|RT-PCR of total RNA isolated with the RNeasy Mini Kit from the indicated numbers of HeLa cells. 10 µl (1/5) of eluate was digested with RNase-free DNase and reverse transcribed with oligo-dT primer. 2.5 µl (1/20) of the cDNA mix was used in 50 µl PCR. A 452 bp fragment of GAPDH was amplified. C-: negative control; C+: positive control; M: 100 bp ladder.|The RNeasy Mini spin column contained in the RNeasy Mini Kit.|

The RNeasy Mini Kit allows efficient purification of total RNA from small amounts of starting material. RNeasy technology simplifies total RNA isolation by combining the stringency of guanidine-isothiocyanate lysis with the speed and purity of silica-membrane purification. RNeasy Kits provide the highest-quality RNA with minimum copurification of DNA.

Procedure

With the RNeasy Mini Kit, total RNA is easily purified from 10 to 1 x 107 animal or human cells, 0.5–30 mg animal or human tissues, and <5 x 107 yeast cells. Samples are first lysed and then homogenized. Ethanol is added to the lysate to provide ideal binding conditions. The lysate is then loaded onto the RNeasy silica membrane (see figure "RNeasy Mini spin column"). RNA binds (up to 100 µg capacity), and all contaminants are efficiently washed away. For certain RNA applications that are sensitive to very small amounts of DNA, the residual amounts of DNA remaining can be removed using a convenient on-column DNase treatment. Pure, concentrated RNA is eluted in 30–100 µl water (see figure "RNeasy Mini procedure"). A variety of special application protocols is also available.

Applications

RNA purified with RNeasy technology has A260/280 ratios of 1.9–2.1 (measured in 10 mM Tris­·Cl, pH 7.5) and is ideal for use in all applications. Downstream applications include:

Up to 1 x 109 bacteria are disrupted and homogenized by bead-milling in a guanidine-thiocyanate-containing lysis buffer. After addition of ethanol, the sample is loaded onto an RNeasy Mini spin column. Total RNA binds to the RNeasy silica-membrane, contaminants are efficiently washed away, and high-quality RNA is eluted in RNase-free water.

One milliliter of milk contains approximately 50,000-200,000 leukocytes (with an average of approximately 100,000 leukocytes). In a BVDV-infected animal up to 1-30% of the leukocytes may be infected with the virus. Each infected leukocyte typically contains 10-10,000 BVDV entities.